In these times of social distancing, we are all in a position where we can’t travel and some of us travel addicts are looking to cure vacation withdrawal. Even before all of this, I knew it’d eventually come because last year I decided to wait until the school year ended to travel. This included sacrificing my annual trip to the Caribbean for my birthday later this month.
I’m glad I made that choice because this semester of grad school includes A LOT more work. I’ve also been pretty busy with my full-time job. The responsibility of school and work life, weekly deadlines, and group projects was a priority, so going away, even for a quick trip was not an option this semester.
If you recently had to cancel a trip, going through post-trip depression, or you’re counting down the days until your next vacation, here’s how to cure vacation withdrawal when you can’t travel.
Look Through Old Travel Photos & Videos
Most of my photos and videos from past trips are stored in an external hard drive or cloud photo storage services. When I’m starting to feel travel withdrawals or going through post-trip depression (usually when the weather at home sucks), I look at these videos and photos to lift my spirits.
Going through old travel photos and videos also reminds me of how fortunate I’ve been to travel to destinations many people have dreamed of visiting. Even though we speak almost every day, I was beginning to miss my friends so I made a video highlighting memories from our past girl’s trips in Thailand, Morocco, Bali, Singapore, and Iceland.
Cook a Meal from a Previous Trip
A great way to bring travel home to you is through food and drinks. I have no shame in admitting that I love to eat. Some of the best food I’ve had has been while traveling and I always ask locals where to get authentic food. Living in New York City also has an advantage since we have so many restaurants.
If you’re craving something different, make it a fun international night and cook something from a past trip. If you’re not much of a home chef and live in a city that offers a variety of cuisines, visit the restaurant for date night, a night out with friends, or order takeout and enjoy the meal at home. This also can work with drinks and desserts.
Start Planning Your Next Trip
If you have a trip coming up, set aside some time to start planning your next trip. After my trip to Portugal in January, the next I had wasn’t until late spring. If you usually book your flights months in advance, research hotels and activities a few months before the trip. Don’t have any trips planned and your finances are together? Book a trip for the future.
Our girl’s trips to Thailand and Bali were initially planned over a year in advance. The closer it was to taking off, the more we planned, and the more excited we became. When you do finally get to the destination, you’ll be able to just soak it all in. If you’re not that great with trip planning, consider booking a group tour or hiring a travel agent to do the planning for you.
Learn a New Language
If you have the time, pick up a new language. Popular language learning services include Duolingo, Babbel, and even Youtube. Learning a new language is a great way to immerse yourself in the culture, improves your ability to multitask, and improves your memory.
Does your employer have international clients? Knowing another language can be beneficial to your job when working with existing customers or signing deals with prospects. I think it may be time for me to pick up some French…
Read Travel Blogs
My favorite way to deal with travel withdrawals is to read travel blogs. Everyone’s perspective is different so it’s cool to read about a destination I’ve visited from someone else’s view. Reading travel blogs and even looking at travel vlogs on YouTube is also a great way to get inspiration for traveling to new destinations.
Participate in an Online Experience
A positive about living in the 21st Century is the ability to experience the world at our fingertips. In the past few weeks, hundreds of destinations and museums have been providing online virtual tours. Miss the nightlife? DJs have also been streaming their mixes live on various platforms. Airbnb has even jumped on board to provide Online Experiences where you can enjoy live interactive video sessions from hosts throughout the world.
I hope this post sharing tips for easing travel withdrawal inspires you to look at the brighter side of things given our current circumstances. They can also help with post trip depression if you just came back from an epic trip. If you live alone, you can still get your friends and family involved via video sessions.
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